His first career nomination came in 1973, for "The Godfather," but he told the host Jimmy Kimmel he was unable to attend that ceremony. The first ceremony he went to was the following year, where he was nominated for best actor for "Serpico."

But as he told Kimmel, it was the second ceremony he attended (for his third nomination, this time for best actor for "The Godfather: Part II") that really stood out for him.

Pacino in "The Godfather."
Paramount Pictures

"I was sitting there and it wasn't at all like you'd expect," Pacino said. "I went and I was sat there in this big event and I was with a friend. I had a few things, you know. I was not completely myself."

"So everything was tolerable, you know?" he added. "The nerves had calmed down. I was sitting there enjoying the show. I turned to Jeff Bridges — he was also nominated — and I said hi."

Bridges won an Oscar in 2010 for "Crazy Heart."
Fox Searchlight Pictures

"I didn't know him, but I knew he was Jeff Bridges, but I never met him. He said: 'Yes? Hi. OK,'" said Pacino, who at that point in his career had starred in two "Godfather" movies and "Serpico" and had garnered three Academy Award nods.

"I thought, 'He hasn't seen my films,'" Pacino laughed.

"But I said to him: 'I don't think they're going to get to the best actor category. It's an hour and they didn't get to that category.' He gave me a look to this day — I'll never forget it — like, 'Where do you come from, who are you?' and said, 'It's three hours.'"

Pacino in "The Irishman," his ninth Oscar nomination.
Netflix

It's worth pointing out that Pacino seemed to recall Bridges being nominated alongside himself for best actor, but he was actually nominated for best supporting actor, a category that would have already been announced, for "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot."

Indeed, Bridges lost the award to Pacino's "Godfather II" costar Robert De Niro (who also stars in "The Irishman"), perhaps explaining his frostiness to Pacino. Still, Pacino was startled at just how long the Oscars were.

"That collapsed me," he told Kimmel. "I thought, 'What am I going to do for the next two hours?'"

"If you're so high that Jeff Bridges has to tell you what's going on..." Kimmel joked.